Insignia structure



N. G. MASON.

INSIGNIA STRUCTURE.

APPLICATION FILED ocT. Ia. 1918.

1 ,$326,604. Patented Deo. 30, 1919.

Witwe oo MZ/'e UNITED srATsirATENr ormon.

NELLIE Gr. MASON, OF PHILADEPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA.

i INSIGNIA STRUCTURE.

y Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dee. 3o 1919.

Application inea october 1s, 191s. serial No. 258,693.

Vthe production of insignia used on the uniforms of officers of the U. S. Army and Navy and will be described as embodied in well known insignia. of this type'.

Heretofore, in the production of insignia which contain a predominant portion or in other words a foundation element in the form of a symbol indicating membership or service, such `as the anchor insignia 4associated with the uniforms of officers of the U. S. Navy, it has been customary to produce such foundation element by sewing a form pad on a suitable base and then covering the pad with-a smooth metallic ribbon known as lam. The application of this lame is accomplished by securing one end to the basev .and then folding the material back and forth over the pad, the folds being progressively advanced in'overlapping relation until the pad is completely covered, the ends of the folds being secured to the base as they occur. This process of construction, especially where the foundation element is of irregular and unusual design, is exceedingly intricate and slow and its correct execution requires highly skilled labor -with ac companying high cost of production.

It is therefore the purpose of my present invention to eliminate the use of clam and its demand for highly skilled labor in the production of insignia foundation elements; to correspondingly reduce the cost of production; to facilitate such production; to render it possible to employ unskilled labor without reducing the standard of the product; to improve the brilliancy, neatness and general appearance of the resulting insignia; to render the insignia more durable and easy'of renovation and repair, and to avoid to a large extent the use of materials diili- 'Y the application of the invention is in no way limited to this design of insignia nor to its form and method of production, the drawing and description being merely illustra- `tive of one method of carrying theinvention into practice.

In describing my invention in detail reference will be had to the accompanying drawing wherein like characters of reference denote corresponding parts in the several views, and in which- Figure 1 is a view in elevation of U. S.

' naval insignia embodying my invention;

Fig. 2, a section on the line 2 9. of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3, a section on the line 3*?, of Fig. 1;

Fig. 4, a perspective view of the foundation element of the insignia; and

Fig. 5, a perspective view of the foundation element looking at the bottom thereof.

Referring to the drawings my improved insi ia structure is shown as comorisino` a base formed of the cloth 10 and the backing 11, the latter being of any desired material, lsuch as buckram, to afford the necessary stiffness and provide a suitable holding member for the stitching which secures the elements of the insignia in place. The foun dation element of the insignia is indicated generally at A in the form of an anchor. I construct this foundation element from ypolished metal by stamping and in such manner that when the same is applied it will be considerably raised with respect to the cloth 10 except at the points 12 and 13 on the shank where it is flattened and provided with openings 14 through which the securing stitching is passed in subsequently applying the embroidery elements to complete the insignia. In this instance I utilize bullionV as an embroidery element to form the stock 15 and the symbolized rope or cable 16, the former passing over the flattened portion 12 and the latter over the flattened portion 18 of the shank. This embroidery element is secured to the base by stitching and certain of the stitches pass. through the openings 1-1 so that the application of the embroidery element in turn secures the foundation element to the base. In addition I provide'the liukes of the anchor with opening 17 at their inner ends througlrwhich stitches pass in the application` of anembroidery element`18 of jaseran and the ap plication of this element is such that it serves tok secure the forward end of the anchor to f Vthe base and conceals the junction of kthe base and foundation element thereby greatly enhancing the embellishment of the insignia. rJhe holding shackle 19 of the anchor, in this instance, is also formed by utilizing aseran as an embroidery element.

While I have specified the use of certain embroidery elements in building up the insignia I desire to state that the carrying of my invention into practice is not limited to the use of any one or any number of embroidery elements and that Where I use the term embroidery element in the claims it is my intention to include within its scope any embroidery element or any combination of embroidery elements that may be suitable for the work at hand and which will meet the conditions imposed by the product `being produced.

Another important feature of my invention resides in the fact that stamp the foundation element from thin pliable metal having a. highly polished and smooth eX- posed surface. As a result of the pliable nature of the foundation element the completed insignia can readily bend and thereby conform to curvature of the part of the garment to which it may Ibe applied. In this respect the structure meets the fundamental requireinents which have heretofore rendered the use of laine necessary. By using a highly polished metal in producing' the foundation element l enhance the brilliancy of the resulting insignia and render it possi-ble to restore. such brilliancy at intervals by cleaning and polishing the exposed smooth surface portions of the foundation element.

l claim:

l. An insignia structure comprisingl a base, a relatively rigid embossed design producingl foundation element on the base, partially forming the design of the insignia7 an embroidery element associated With the foundation element and overlying the same at predetermined points to complete the design of the insignia, and fastening means engagedthrough overlying portions of the embroidery element and through the foundation element to simultaneously secure said elements to thebase.

2. An insignia structure comprising a base, a relatively rigid embossed design producing foundation element on the base provided with grooved depressions and partially forming the design of the insignial` an embroidery element overlying the foundation element at predetermined points to complete the.. design of the insignia and crossing the embossing in said grooved depressions7 and fastening means engaged through overlying portions of the embroidery element and through the foundation element to simultaneously secure said elements to the base.

3. An insignia structure comprising a. baise, a relatively rigid enibosseddesign producing foundation element on the base prf vided with apertures and partially forming the design of the insignia, an embroider)r element overlying the foundation element-at points above said apertures and complete the design of the insignia, and stitching fastening the embroidery element to the base and threaded through said apertures.

In testimony whereof, I aiiix my signature in the presence of two Witnesses.

NELLE G. MASON. lWitnesses ORA D. SHAW, MARY C. KELLY. 

